For the fifth year, the Department of Theatre and Dance has sponsored Wellness Week, a three-day event for its students that provides information on how to maintain their physical, emotional and financial well-being.

Typically scheduled right before fall break each year, the event provides students with opportunities to engage in a wide range of health-related activities. They can also choose to hear from expert speakers on topics ranging from nutrition to digital and social media time management.

“Wellness Week is always one of the highlights of my year,” said Associate Professor Azaria Hogans, Wellness Week committee chair. “Wellness Week is depression prevention, social isolation prevention and, overall, the embodiment of prioritizing student mental health and well-being.”

This year’s Wellness Week committee members were theatre and dance Department Head Dr. Chris Herr, Assistant Professor Nikki Ferry, Assistant Professor Karen Sabo and Artist-in-Residence Kathleen Hains. Among their many tasks, the committee helped organize event activities, scheduled speakers and venue locations and promoted the event on social media. Hogans also handled budgeting and program analytics.

According to those analytics, Hogans said the event garnered over 300 attendance touch points this year.

Injury prevention, pet therapy and sound bath meditation are popular activities

In addition to recording attendance, data from this year’s event includes student feedback. Based on that feedback, Hogans determined that some of the more popular sessions included injury prevention, pet therapy and the sound bath meditation session.

While Hogans noted that there are no specific plans yet for next year’s Wellness Week, the department will bring back some of these more popular sessions. “We are always open to faculty and student feedback as to what they want to experience next,” she added.

Sound bath meditation soothes and rejuvenates

The sound bath meditation session, conducted by Cheri Smith of Soul Healing with Cheri, included chimes, gongs and crystals. Smith used these instruments to create soothing rhythmic sounds that induced relaxation while restoring energy.

“Sound bath meditation is a new experience for many students,” Hogans said. And based on their feedback, they found it highly beneficial. “This. Every year. Maybe multiple times a year,” one student wrote in their feedback comments. “I need this more often,” wrote another.

“Bring her back!” said another student.

Pet Therapy Hour generates smiles all around

Back again for Wellness Week, the pet therapy hour remains a student favorite. Interacting with the animals reminds many students of their furry friends back home, Hogans said. “And the animals are so sweet.”

Some students found they have something in common with pets like Willow, a 9-year-old golden retriever mix. When Willow’s handler explained that her favorite food is peanut butter, one student exclaimed, “So is mine!”

In addition to Willow, students visited with dogs Reed and Denali and perennial favorite Boris the Cat.

Even non-theatre and dance students couldn’t resist finding a little joy in the tail-wagging session. One Missouri State student, a freshman health major, came to the pet therapy hour with his friends.

“This is a nice idea,” he said. “I’ve never been over to this part of campus, Craig Hall. It’s pretty cool.”

Injury prevention session relevant and useful

Students also gave positive feedback on the injury prevention session, conducted by representatives from Cox Health Systems.

“Students are craving this information since we no longer have an athletic trainer in our program,” Hogans said.

Despite being limited to students enrolled in Dance Kinesiology, the “Dancer Assessments with Cox Health” session was a big hit, Hogans said

“I am so grateful for working with Cox Health,” she said. “They did assessments for some of our students and sent back individualized training plans for them to help in injury prevention and strength training.”

“I am excited to get my results back,” one student attendee wrote in their feedback comments. “It was a great opportunity to learn about my own body.”

Financial advice promotes professional well-being

Students didn’t just encounter information about their physical and mental health during Wellness Week. They also learned more about their financial health.

As one example, Hogans highlighted the event’s headline speaker, Michelle Deveaux.

“She empowered the students in a way that I think will motivative them to be active in thinking of themselves as artists,” Hogans said.

Deveaux’s session, “Stage Rights, Even: Ditching the Starving Artist Mindset for Good,” encouraged students to see themselves as business owners. She discussed four “mindset pillars” that help aspiring artists see themselves as “intentional professionals” and provided strategies on how to achieve their artistic and financial goals.

Peer-to-peer learning

Meanwhile, Missouri State senior accounting major and theatre minor Rocky Lane gave students tips on basic financial literacy as a member of the campus Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Lane has already taken voice and movement classes with Ferry. So it was a pleasant surprise to also see his fellow theatre and dance students attending his session. He said he enjoyed discussing financial literacy tips with his peers and would gladly do it again.

“Of what I know, this is something new the theatre department is putting together, so I’ll happily participate in the future if I get a chance,” he said.

Lane believes Wellness Week embraces some of the same motivation that FPA does. “It’s about helping people,” he explained. “We all struggle in different avenues of our lives, and if finance is one those struggles for you, then I’m always happy to lend a hand.”

 

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Photos by Lynn Lansdown.